As the Halloween season comes to an end, I think it’s important to reflect on what we’re actually celebrating. Today, Halloween is dominated by costumed people of all ages, horror movies, elaborately carved pumpkins, haunted houses, and much more. It’s a fun time where people can transform and dress as whoever or whatever they wish. Where children dressed as ladybugs, princesses, or superheroes roam the neighborhood streets and gather candy. A lot of what people normally associate with Halloween has been altered throughout the years. Of course, things change over time. Other holidays, like Christmas, have also been changed.The only difference is that the reasoning behind Christmas is still honored and remembered. Yet, the origins of Halloween have been lost within the generational changes.
Samhain
Halloween began in ancient times with the celebration of Samhain, pronounced sow-in.The Celtic,--who lived 2,000 years in current day Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France-- celebrated their new year on November, 1st. The new year represented an end to the plentiful harvest and warm summer, and the beginning of cold, harsh winter. Winter was associated with human death, since disease and sickness was common during these dark, bleak months. Samhain was the day before the new year, where the Celtics believed the “boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.” On the night of October 31st, the Celts believed that the ghosts and spirits returned to Earth.Because the upcoming season was known for death, the Celtic relied on Druids (Celtic Priests) to tell their future in hopes of positive months ahead. The return of the ghosts during Samhain was believed to help the Druids make such predictions. Those who celebrated Samhain would wear costumes, usually of animal heads and skins. The association of costumes worn during Halloween, originated from this tradition. Samhain is still celebrated today by thousands of Witches, Wiccans, Druids, and other Pagans across America, Canada, Europe, and more. Many of the old traditions have been modernized throughout the years, but the same idea prevails: to honor the dead. People have feasts and remember ancestors who have passed away. Today, Samhain and Halloween are two separate and different Holidays, but Halloween truly stemmed from the ancient Celtic celebration.
Feralia and Ponoma
The Roman Empire took a majority of the Celtic territory by 23 A.D. Two holidays were created from Samhain: Feralia and Pomona. Feralia commemorated dead ancestors and was celebrated in late October. The celebration consisted of a one day feast that took place at the end of Parentalia--a longer feast to honor the dead. Parentalia was believed to be a positive celebration of lives, but on the last day (Feralia) it turned darker. At midnight the “heads of the Roman families would address the less pleasant ancestors and evil spirits.” There were rituals, where they would try to force the evil spirits to return to the spirit world for another year. If they failed to do so, the spirits would remain on Earth and bring misery throughout the year. Pomona was another celebration to honor the Roman goddess of fruit, trees, and harvest named Pomona. Her symbol was the apple, which explains the tradition of bobbing for apples.
All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day
The Church realized that they would be more successful in converting others to Christianity if they used pagan traditions and incorporated them into Christian rituals. Samhain and Panama, in particular, were morphed into other celebrations. In 1000 A.D., the church made November 2nd All Souls’ Day to honor the dead. The reasoning behind this was to replace Samhain with a similar, but church-organized holiday. It’s celebration was extremely similar to Samhain, with “big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils.” The Cluniacs, a French monastic order, created All Souls’ Day to honor all departed Christian souls, not just the saints. Pope Henry III was the figure who moved All Saints Day from May 1st to November 1st, so it would occur at the same time as pagan festivals. It was also called All-hallows or All-hallowm. The day before was called All-Hallows Eve, which eventually became Halloween. These three days of celebration were called Hallowmas. Most of the celebrations were similar to pagan celebrations, but few moderations were made. For example, the Church and the congregation honored the dead, but with prayers rather than sacrifice. Instead of honoring spirits through food and wins, the congregation would go “house to house carrying a hollowed out turnip lantern whose candle symbolized a soul trapped in purgatory and offering prayers for the dead in exchange for “Soul Cakes.” Lastly, bonfires were lit to keep Satan away. They saw the Druids as witches and created the link between witchcraft and the devil that still exists today.
Halloween Comes to America
The celebration of Halloween in America depended on the religious standing of each colony. In New England, for example, it was limited and mostly prohibited due to their strict Protestantism. Halloween was more common in Maryland and the southern colonies. Quickly, American versions of Halloween emerged because of the mesh between the several ethnic groups of Europe and Native Americans. Such new versions of Halloween included “play parties” where the public would celebrate the harvest, tell stories of the dead, tell fortunes, dance, and sing.During the American Revolution, society became more tolerant and accepting of religious diversity, making Halloween more secular. It became a gendered holiday, where the separate genders celebrated in their own ways. Men, typically, created mischief such as “blocking chimneys, ruining cabbage patches, unhinging gates, and unstable-ing horses.” While women stayed close to home, bobbing for apples or telling their future partner’s name with apple peels. In the second half of the 19th century, new immigrants came to America. The new immigrants, including millions of Irish, popularized Halloween. They “ began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat”. In the late 1800s a movement began to make Halloween about community and to focus less on ghosts, pranks, and witchcraft. It became more family oriented, catering to children and adults. Parents took anything gruesome out of Halloween celebrations, which ultimately led to the loss of the religious and superstitious history behind it. Between 1920 and 1950, trick-or-treating was revived, making candy companies prosperous .
Today
Today’s celebration of Halloween includes dressing up in costumes, and trick-or-treating. In addition, the whole season includes apple and pumpkin picking--which connects back to the focus on the harvest. Ghosts and spiritual events are heightened at this time of year as well. Many aspects of modern Halloween has connections and roots back to the several ancient holidays. It’s interesting to see the evolution of Halloween and how, once it came to America, the historical relevance of it was shoved under the rug--which is why many people are unaware of it.
